ST. LOUIS — Two Cardinals left-handed starters who enjoyed summertime success for the club at different intervals this season took the mound for the final time this regular season Saturday night, not knowing if they would be back here anymore.
Jon Lester, 37, who won five starts in August and September to reach 200 wins for his career and help the Cardinals’ playoff push, blanked the Chicago Cubs for four innings before experiencing control issues in the fifth and surrendering a grand slam to Trayce Thompson
Kwang Hyun Kim, 33, who won five starts in succession in late June and July to help the then-doddering Cardinals afloat, relieved Lester and worked two scoreless innings.
With a Busch Stadium season-high sellout crowd of 45,239 on hand, Lester didn’t receive the loss and Kim didn't get credit for a win. The Cardinals rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the seventh but the Cubs' Ian Happ drilled a 451-foot, two-run homer to dead center off Luis Garcia with two out in the ninth to present the Cubs with a 6-5 victory.
The Cardinals thus lost for only the third time in their past 24 games.
Pinch hitter Tommy Edman singled home one run in the seventh and, after stealing his 30th base, came around to score the go-ahead run on Dylan Carlson’s two-run single off Michael Rucker. All three runs were unearned as a result of a throwing error by Cubs shortstop Sergio Alcantara.
Edman is the first Cardinal to steal 30 bases since Edgar Renteria had 34 in 2003.
Young right-hander Kodi Whitley, who does figure to be a prominent member of next year’s club, fired off a scoreless eighth. And Garcia, perhaps the surprise of the season, was headed for his third save when a walk and Happ's 25th homer got in the way.
Former Cardinals prospect Rowan Wick earned the save for the Cubs, who had lost seven in succession to the Cardinals this season.
Promoted to the leadoff spot with Edman receiving a night off, Harrison Bader clouted the first leadoff homer of his big league career in the first inning. Bader sent a 3-1 sinker from Adrian Simpson over the left-field wall for his 16th homer of the season.
The Cardinals put two more runners on in the inning as Tyler O’Neill was hit in the upper back by a pitch and Nolan Arenado singled but Carlson and Yadier Molina both struck out.
Bader almost had a second homer an inning later but his fly to deep left landed a few short of the track and in the glove of Cubs left fielder Happ. That advanced to third Paul DeJong, who had doubled with one out. But Paul Goldschmidt struck out.
Lester breezed through the first two innings in scoreless fashion with the help of a nifty double play generated by third baseman Arenado in the second inning.
Lester then got the first two outs in the third before walking Willson Contreras but retired Frank Schwindel on a liner to center.
The Cubs made their former ace work harder for it in the fourth when they loaded the bases with one out on a double by Matt Duffy, Thompson’s single to left just out the grasp of shortstop DeJong and a walk to Alcantara.
But Lester was equal to this test, fanning Trent Giambrone on a high fastball and inducing Johneshwy Fargas to ground into a forceout.
In the fifth, however, the Cubs won out as Thompson crushed his grand slam after Lester had issued his third and fourth walks with two out to load the bases. Earlier in the inning, the Cubs had won a challenge that first baseman Goldschmidt did not tag base runner Erick Castillo after Arenado had made a barehand grab and throw to first.
The Cubs took a 4-1 lead at the halfway point of a slow-moving game.
But the Cardinals quickly rallied when Goldschmidt doubled and O’Neill tripled out of the reach of center fielder Fargas in the Cardinals’ fifth. After Arenado walked, however, Carlson grounded sharply up the middle where pitcher Trevor Megill speared the bouncer and started an inning-ending double play.
O’Neill, who had three hits on Friday, had two more on Saturday, including a single that kept the seventh-inning surge moving.
